SHIPPING NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2455, 3 April 1901, Page 54

SHIPPING NEWS.

(COLONIAL AND FOREIGN. Arrivals. "Vesßel. Tonnage. From March TTpolu, s.s 7CO ... Westport ... 27 •Devonport, barque 291 ... Hobart ... ... 27 "vWestralia s.B. ... 1819 ... Melbourne ... 28 Wbangape, e.s. ... ISOI ... Hobart 29 ' (Enterprise, achooner 84 ... Kaipara ... ./». 29 'JTe Anau, s.s. ... 1027 ... Auckland I. 29 jXumara. 8.8. .*.. 6000 ... London ... „..30 , Janet Nfcoll, 8.8.... 542 ... Greymouth „..30 jßanc atira, s.t. ... 4045 ... Northern portf... 31 Jlnvercargil), s.s. ... IS3 ... South „,' ... 81 AWaihora, s.s. ... 1269 ... Sydney „» .„. 31 9ftararoa, e.s. ... £153 ... Sydney ..it M. 31 ' Departures. Vessel Tonnage For March invercargill. b.b. ... 123 ... InTercargill ... 26 Onyx, barque ... 403 ... Kaipur* ... ...26 Zealandia, b.s. ... 1735 ... Sydney . . ... 26 i Wellington, sbip... 1247 ... Wellington ♦.. 27 Westralia, s.s. ... 1819 ... Sydney ... *„ i 8 XUnolu, 8.8 ... 700 ... Westport /. 28 ,Te" Anau, s.s. «'.. 1020 ... Auckfaad ...29 Apri 'JanetNicoll, ».5. ... 462 ... Grey mouth ... 1 Whangape, s.s. ... 1901 ... Lyttelton 1 Waihora, s.s. ... 12C9 ... Melbourne M 1 j THE DIRECT STEAMERS. ' ■ The Paparoa sailed from Capetown on the E4th inst. for Auckland. WELLINGTON, March 26.— Arrived: tWaka-noi, from London, via Hobart. WELLINGTON, March 28.— Sailed : Jtimutaka, for London. AUCKLAND, March 28.— The Maori, : from London to Auckland, passed Cape Maria Van Diemen at 8 o'clock this morning, and reported all well. She should make this port early to-morrow morning. AUCKLAND, March 29.— Arrived : Maori, from London. SHIRE LINE STEAMERS. The s.s. Fifeshire (Lyttelton, 7th February) arrived at London on 26th inst., all well. The s.s. Morayshire left London for the colonies, via South Africa, on 28th inst . OTAGO' S INCREASED SHIPPING FACILITIES. AN ERA OF PROGRESS. INCREASE OF HARBOUR BOARD LANDED ESTATE. The improved condition of the Upper Itarbour must be a matter for congratulation by all interested in the shipping of this port. It is also extremely satisfactory to note that the most important improvements have been effected during the comparatively short time Mr Rawson has been in charge of the works as engineer. The complete revolution he has effected in the conduct of operations for the general improvement of the harbour and for increasing the wharfage accommodation at Dunedin fully justifies the tfxjnfidence l-eposed in his skill when the JH&rbour Board decided to give their new ■engineer practically a free hand. It is not long since the navigation of the upper channel was so difficult that the unwelcome *pectacle of one of the Union Company's intercolonial steamers stuck fast for hours iwas only too frequent. Mr Rawson quickly discerned the cause of the difficulty, and •took the very first opportunity of having at removed. The upper end of the channel v/as widened and deepened, giving a fairer dead to and from the wharves, and since that was done there have been no more vexatious delays through steamers getting out of the channel. Mr Rawson next set about deepening the steamer basin and improving the berthage at the wharves. The cross wharf was widened, after the berthage ?had been uredged down to a depth of 20ft at low water, Bpring tides, and a commodious goods shed erected in connection therewith. Laige steamers can now lie at the cross Avharf with safety, and shipping agents appraciate the facilities for handling cargo at this wharf afforded by the increased wharfage and shed accommodation. The tongue wharf was next taken in hand, and the berthage on the town side dredged down to a low-water depth of 20ft, which is a marked improvement on the old order of things. The Union Company's! big steamers can now lie afloat all the time, which is a matter of the utmost importance, as there is considerable risk in allowing a large vessel to take the ground — a risk which, unfortunately, had to be taken until quite recently. These improvements are beine followed up by deepening the berthage at the lower end of the Jetty street wharf to 20ft at low water. A large shed, 200 ft by 40ft, is also in course of erection, and a 10-ton crane will be placed in position for the use of vessels. By this means an additional berth will be provided for the intercolonial and other steamers, thus relieving the pressure st the tongue wharf, where the accommodation is rather too limited for handling the inward and outward cargo of a couple of steamers at the same time, which, under existing arrangements, has frequently to be done. At an early date the improvement of the berthage at the Victoria wharf Mill be placed in hand. The berthage will be dredged to a depth of 20ft at low water, and the wharf widened by 15ft, which will give increased facility for handling cargo. Anyone who has sppii the wharf hampered with cargo will understand the value of widening it. 13ut in addition to all these improvements, which mark a new era in the history of Otago Harbour, the Victoria wharf is to be lengthened by 100 ft, and a big-steamer berth dredged to a low-water depth of 22ft, to accommodate the lorgf oversea steamers that now come up to Duned'n. While all these works are in progress the Victoria Channel will not be neglected Dredge;£22 has been at work for some time deepening the channel and widening it, and from time to time she will be set to work to reduce Rhoals m the channel wherever they arc found There is one point in connection with the dredging operations in the Up;">er Harbour which, although we have referred to it before, may not be so widely known as it oughf to be. The former practice was to send the dredge out to sea to deposit each load of spoil, for which purpose ill edge, 222 was specially designed, but Mr Bawson has effected a complete revolution in tho matter, in the Upper Harbour at Miy rate. The suction-pump dredge Vulcan was placed in position between the tongue and Jetty street wharves, after a cTeep nit had beon dredged out by the big dredge. Over this pit the dredge hoppers were opened, and the spoil from the steamer basin deposited, to be pumped \ip for reclamation purposes, with the result that a' valuable area, =omc nine acres in extent, has been made up south of the Jetty street wharf. This new estate kis proposed to subdivide into « acre sections, which are to be offeree l at auction at an upset annual rental of £10 per section, and ■we have no doubt they will be eagerly eaapped up.

Recently the "Vulcan was removed to the lower end of ihe Victoria wharf to pump tha spoil dumped by dredge 222 on to the reclamation by Lower St. Andrew street. It is intended to reclaim all the land required by the Railway department, including a roadway between Hanover and St. Andrew streets, while over and above that an additional area of six acres will be added to the Harbour Board's estate. This goes to show the importance of the new method of conducting dredging operations, which have doubled the effectiveness of the big dredge, at any rate while operating in the steamer basin, and at a slightly added cost made valuable additions to the Harbour Board's landed estate. Let us hope the en of prosperity the Harbour Board has now fairly entered upon will continue until very much larger vessels will be able to come up to Dunedin and lie afloat at the wharves at all states of the tide. The b.s. Zealandia steamed down to Port Chalmers on the 26th ult., and left in the afternoon for Sydney, via Auckland. Messrs W. G. Neill and Co. have been appointed agents in Otago for the Oceanic Company's (Messrs Spreekels and Co.) line of steamers carrying on the San Francisco service. The barque Strathgyfe was towed up from the quarantine harbour on the 26th ult. by the tugs Koputai and Plucky, and moored at the export pier to discharge cargo. The barque Strathgyfe is the second wool ship bound from Sydney to London which has 1 taken fire during the last three years The other vessel was the ship Hollingwood, Captain Kidd, which was abandoned at sea off the Western Isles. The Cape steamer Kinfauns Castle, one of the Union Castle line, went ashore at the Needles on the 11th inst. The Needles are three stacks of outlying rocks of chalk off the west end of the Isle of Wight. On the Cape behind them stands the Needles lighthouse. The Kinfauns Castle is a splendid twin-screw steamer of 9648 tons, launched in 1899 by the Fairfield Company of Glasgow. She is owned by the Union Line Company, of London, and her dimensions are: — Length, 515 ft; breadth of beam. 59ft; and depth, 34ft. She is beautifully fitted up for the passenger service, and is a eister ship to the famous Kildonan Castle. Her speed is 17^ knots. H.M.S. Terrible broke the record on February 19, when she took in 2600 tons of bunker coal at Thursday Island in 13 hours. The Huddart-Parker Company's s.e. Westralia. Captain W. Waller, with 31 passengers, 330 tons general cargo, and mails, from Melbourne, via Hobart and the Bluff, arrived at Port Chalmers at 6 a.m. on Thursday, and was berthed atj^j^hj^, George street pier, where she landed ancnWfßved cargo. She left Melbourne at 6 p.m. of the 22nd insf. The deepest vessel which has ever left an Australian port is the White Star liner Runic, which sailed from Hobart on the 22nd inst. for London and Liverpool, via Capetown. When she left the Dunn street pier, Hobarfc, she was drawing 30ft sin aft and 30ft 2in forward. Captain Kempson, who is well known in Dunedin, expressed his entire satisfaction at the facilities offered him by the harbour authorities at Hobart. A Shanghai letter of Fcbruarv 19 informs us that the China Navigation Company are building 18 new steamers in Great Britain, which will bring the fleet under their flag up to 65 vessels. Every other company in China is also increasing its fleet. The U.S.S. Company's steamship Whangape, Captain Courbarron, from Hobart, with a cargo of timber and coal, arrived at Port Chalmers at 8.30 a.m. on Friday, and anchored in Koputai Bay for inspection. She left Hobart at 11 a.m. of the 24th met. The s.s. Mararoa, from Sydney, via Auckland, arrived on Sunday at 1.30 p m. and was berthed at the tongue wharf. She left Sydney on the 20th ult. The s.s. Waihora, from Sydney via Wellington, arrived at 2.30 p.m. and was berthed at the cross wharf. The following vessels have been in harbour during the past week : — Arrivals : Zealandia, s.s., 1735 tons; Devonport, barque, 291; Upolu, s.s., 700; We&tralia, s.s., 1819; Whangape, s.s., 1901: Epterprise, schooner, 84; Te Anau, s.s., 1028: Waihora, s.e , 1269: Mararoa. s.s., 1381; Invercdrgill, s.s., 123; Kumara, s &., 6000 ; Janet Nicoll, g.<- , 496 ; Rangatira, s.s., 4045; — total, 20,852 tons. Departures: Rimu, s.s., 143 tonK ; Mokoia, s.s, 2154; Invercargill, s.s., 123; Onyx, barque, 403; Zcalandia. s.s., 17?S • Wellington, s.s., 1247; Upolu, s.s., 7QO : Westraha, s.s., 1819; Te Anau, &.«., 1028; — total, 9352 ton*. Directly after the arrival of the fine steamship Kumara at Port Chalmers on Saturday ?he commenced taking in cargo. The only freight she ha 6to put out here is a quantify of grain for the s.s. Rangatira for South Africa. The barque Strathgryfe, up to knock-off time on Saturday, had put out 2615 bales wool, 3425 sacks wheat, and 1611 bags ore. Of these 1760 bales wool and 935 sacks of wheat are more or less damaged by smoke, fire, and water, besides 1222 bags which are discoloured by smoke. The steamer Kumara, which is without doubt one of the finest steamers under the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Shipping Company's flag, arrived at Port Chalmers on Sunday forenoon, and was at once berthed to take in caigo The Kumara come* here on thi« occasion to load wool, tallow, and fiozen meat, and has some 2000 sacks of grain from Timaru for transhipment to the s.s. Rangatira, for South Africa. .She will take in wool, tallow, and grain, and leave aaain for Wellington, thence she proceeds to London. The TCtimari loft London on January 19, and Plymouth on January 20 The s.s. Waihora left for Melbourne, via the Bluff and Hobart, on Monday afternoon. The f.s. Rangatira commenced both to take m and put out cargo at the George street pier on Monday. Her inward cargo consists of 600 bales of wool from Oamaru for the ship In-vercargill, now loading at Dunedin. The N.Z.S. Company's Papanui, which left Monte Video on February 22, picked up a French barque two days off Vigo Bay, on the Spanish coast, and towed her into that port. Tho barque had lO6t her rudder 35 days previously, and when picked up by the Papanui the crew were almost foodless.